A New World in Brazil

In the neighborhoods of Rio de Janeiro and Fortaleza, thousands of Brazilians have already started to make a new world a reality. This change is being driven by the more than 200,000 residents of the poorest neighborhoods of these two Brazilian cities who, with the support of Enel’s programs, have made it a habit of recycling domestic waste, a habit that gives them discounts on their electricity bills and even allows them to replace their old refrigerators in order to save electricity and protect the environment.

“More than 200,000 residents of the poorest neighborhoods have made recycling domestic waste a habit.”

Energy from waste

Launched in 2007, this initiative has received accolades from the UN and has been listed as one of the 25 best Brazilian innovations of the past decade. The company’s waste recycling program is one of our best in terms of the impact generated in the region.

Every day people from all social sectors divide their waste by type, taking it to 159 ecological waste collection points throughout the neighborhoods of Rio and Ceará and hand it over to the workers of the Ecoelce and Ecoampla programs.

Our employees weigh the waste to determine its value according to a pre-established price list and the total value of what would otherwise be thrown away is then applied as a discount on users’ electricity bills.

Whether glass, metal, plastic, paper or liquids, all of the waste is taken to recycling centers for processing and subsequent reuse in a sustainable manner.

The barter of "geladeiras"

But waste recycling is not the only example of our company’s Open Power philosophy. In 63 of Ceará State’s poorest townships, thousands of families take part in the initiatives implemented by Enel Distribución Ceará for low-income people. They include the ten-year-old Troca Eficiente (Efficient Barter) program. The idea is simple: to replace old refrigerators, which tend not to work well, with new and efficient ones. The exchange is free-of-charge and people need only present their last paid electricity bill along with their old "geladeira".

The results are clear. Through to 2015, we had replaced 14,604 obsolete refrigerators and have now also begun to collect old light bulbs from homes. This has brought benefits both to people and to the environment since food is better preserved, electricity consumption is reduced and the oils and gases present in old refrigerators are no longer at risk of being released into homes, but are treated to prevent pollution.

United for a new world

Enel’s Brazilian companies provide service to 3 million people in the Rio de Janeiro State and 3.7 million in the Ceará State. Of these, more than 200,000 have participated in social initiatives undertaken by Enel Distribución Rio and Enel Distribución Ceará and, perhaps without realizing it, have already started to make a new world a reality.